In an unexpected twist, Tesla, the renowned electric car company, has decided to rule out Spain as a possible location for its next European factory. This news has generated a great stir in the Spanish automotive industry in recent weeks.
As confirmed by Ximo Puig, former president of the Generalitat Valenciana, in statements documented by Economía Digital, the world’s most popular electric car brand has given up on setting up in Spain due to a series of leaks that occurred in early June. These leaks, which emerged through an internal leak, infuriated the company and put a definitive end to negotiations with Spain.
Puig has defended himself by stating that he was not responsible for the internal leak and has described this incident as a “serious problem” that has dynamited a potential agreement and an important multi-million dollar investment in the country. Although he is no longer in office due to the loss of the last elections, Puig has argued that he was unable to control the actions of his team, which has contributed to the breakdown of this important deal.
In addition, the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has been criticized for not having held any meetings with Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, to promote the opportunities that Spain offered. In contrast, other European countries such as France, with Emmanuel Macron, and Italy, with Giorgia Meloni, have actively sought to meet with Musk and have shown their interest in attracting Tesla. This has led to the point that the responsibility for this deal lies primarily with the government of the Generalitat, rather than at the national level, as it should have been.
Following this unfortunate outcome, Tesla has eliminated Spain from its list of possible candidates to host its second electric car Gigafactory in Europe, after the one already established in Berlin, which has been a great success for the company. Among the candidate countries is Portugal, the neighboring country that hopes to hold a meeting with Tesla’s CEO.
Despite the efforts of the Generalitat to resume talks with Tesla, the company has shown an inflexible stance and has not agreed to restart negotiations. The awarding of this project would have meant an investment of more than 4,500 million euros in Spain, a figure higher than what the Volkswagen Group will invest in its battery plant in Sagunto.
This unfortunate outcome has left Spain without the opportunity to host Tesla’s Gigafactory, which represents a hard blow for the automotive industry and the country’s economy. Now, it remains to be seen what alternatives are put forward to boost the development of electric mobility in Spain and attract investments of this caliber in the future.
